1835.} CALLAO.—LIMA. 367 
of our visit, there were four chiefs in arms contending for supre- 
macy in the government : if one succeeded in becoming for a time 
very powerful, the others cvalesced against him; but no sooner 
were they victorious, than they were again hostile to each other. 
The other day, at the Anniversary of the Independence, high 
mass was performed, the President partaking of the sacrament : 
during the Te Deum laudamus, instead of each regiment display- 
ing the Peruvian flag, a black one with death’s head was unfurled. 
Imagine a government under which such a scene could be or- 
- dered, on such an occasion, to be typical of their determination 
of fighting to death! ‘his state of affairs happened at a time 
very unfortunately for me, as I was precluded from taking any 
excursions much beyond the limits of the town. The barren 
island of S. Lorenzo, which forms the harbour, was nearly the 
only place where one could walk securely. The upper part, 
which is upwards of 1000 feet in height, during this season of 
the year (winter), comes within the lower limit of the clouds ; 
and in consequence, an abundant cryptogamic vegetation, and a 
few flowers, cover the summit. On the hills near Lima, at a 
height but little greater, the ground is carpeted with moss, and 
beds of beautiful yellow lilies, called Amancaes. This indicates 
a very much greater degree of humidity, than at a corresponding 
height at Iquique. Proceeding northward of Lima, the climate 
becomes damper, till on the banks of the Guyaquil, nearly under 
the equator, we find the most luxuriant forests. The change, 
however, from the sterile coast of Peru to that fertile land is 
described as taking place rather abruptly in the latitude of Cape 
Blanco, two degrees south of Guyaquil. 
Callao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. The inhabitants, 
both here and at Lima, present every imaginable shade of mix- 
ture, between European, Negro, and Indian blood. They appear 
a depraved, drunken set of people. The atmosphere is loaded 
with foul smells, and that peculiar one, which may be perceived 
in almost every town within the tropics, was here very strong. 
The fortress, which withstood Lord Cochrane’s long siege, has 
an imposing appearance. But the President, during our stay, 
sold the brass guns, and proceeded to dismantle parts of it. The 
reason assigned was, that he had not an officer to whom he could 
trust so important a charge. He himself had good reasons fur 
